Iconic retailer invests for new growth

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN TIRE CORP. (Toronto symbols CTC $197 and CTC.A $135; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 73.5 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadiantire.ca) owns 498 Canadian Tire stores. They sell automotive, household and sporting goods. Franchisees run most of these outlets. Other operations include 296 gas stations and 91 PartSource auto parts stores. New markets have paid off Canadian Tire has acquired two big specialty retailers in the past few years: Mark’s sells casual and work clothing through 380 stores; and the Forzani Group sells sporting goods and athletic wear through 433 stores, including Sport Chek and Sports Experts. Those retail chains help Canadian Tire better compete with Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Costco. Thanks partly to acquisitions, Canadian Tire’s sales rose 20.0%, from $10.4 billion in 2011 to $12.5 billion in 2014. Sales then declined 1.5% to $12.3 billion in 2015. That’s because lower gasoline prices hurt revenue at…